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What do I major in if I want to be a game programmer?


Colonello
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Hi everyone, I figured I would post this here seeing as how I wasn't having much luck in other places. Anyway college is 2 years away from now and I'd like to know a lot about what to major in before I go. I'm a little confused on what the difference is in majoring in Computer Programming or Computer Science (unless they're the same?). The school I'd like to attend only offers Computer Science if there is a difference between the two. In my future I'd like to program games for big companies such as Ubisoft, EA, Square Enix, Jagex, Blizzard, etc. Also if it helps here is the list of all of the computer science courses. [http://www.unr.edu/cse/academics/courses/cs](http://www.unr.edu/cse/academics/courses/cs)

Anyway to sum it all up. Do I major in Computer Science if I want to program for games? If so will these classes here make me eligible/suitable to be accepted in to these game studios?
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Here is my take on the situation, though it may not be accurate just my personal experience going from school to the industry.

If you want to learn how to program you take "Computer Science" almost all of the jobs I see in the industry say "Computer science or equivalent". Now that or equivalent is where most of the other courses come in.

I have no idea what Computer programming is I have never heard of that.

Now what I took was "Visual and Game Programming" a course offered by my school. Courses like these are a computer science equivalent. The difference is that these classes will teach you how to program for games. You will still learn how to program like anyone else, but you will most likely concentrate on game related math, (dot products, cross products, raycasting, matrixes etc). You may also learn how to use some of the current game engines while you learn to program. You also have game related examples and projects to make it more fun. The downside is that this is all the rage these days so some schools try to rip you off with terrible courses as there is no strict guidelines of what these courses need to have.

If you are trying to get a job outside the game industry as a programmer and you try to cite your game related course it may not pan out so well (im guessing no facts on this). Though in gaming I labelled my course as a computer science equivalent and both EA and Ubisoft deemed this fine.

Honestly a lot of people in the industry no longer care about school as long as you know what your doing. Now school is a great idea because it will not only teach you how to do it, but how to do it well and optimize it. This is what really sets you apart from everyone else applying. I learned algorithms and terms I had never even heard of before going into school, not to mention they show you exactly what to learn so your not just guessing or making random games and hoping you get all the key points.

Personally, when I went to school it taught me how little I actually knew about programming. Its a good reality check, its amazing that sometimes you dont even know what you dont know.

Also as a side note, if you want to be in the game industry learn c++. I dont want to start a big debate on this but from my personal experience it is the most wanted and most valuable skill. Even from a perspective of learning anything language. My first job was coding in c# and I started my first day with only c++ experience. No one even noticed I didnt know c#. C# will get you a lot of Unity jobs at the moment and some tool positions but that is about it.

A lot of iOS still needs C++ or Objective c anyway. I only mention this because I know some courses only teach Java throughout the entire course. While that is still very valuable try to get some c++ in. I know a lot of people feel like they know the language but it takes many many years. I know people with 15+ years in the industry still only rate themselves a 4/10 or so in c++. I rate myself about a 2.

If you plan to do only indie stuff this may be less relevant. But I noticed you said you wanted to work at the bigger studios.

Anyway, I went on a bit of a badly spelled rant there. It comes down to Computer Science is the old school good programming course. Nothing wrong there it will get you what you need and not be questioned. Other courses can really be hit or miss but may be more related to gaming.
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Computer science usually revolves around troubled shooting and solving issues in technology.

Computer Programming and Analysis is what I major in. It's basically a "Programmer" but the technical term would be a "Software Engineer"

There is also a major for game design in specific. Usually these colleges are REALLY expensive. The best two schools for Game Programming as a major in around the United States, in my opinion, is Fullsail University and SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) University. SCAD is in Savannah Georgia. Fullsail University, which was the college I had planned to go to originally, is located in Winter Park, Florida. It's in Orlando, FL. It's about 70K/year plus living expenses. There are no dorms For Fullsail, however there are student apartments you'd nee to rent. So, if you plan on going for Game Design at Fullsail, I suggest saving money now. Fullsail is AMAZING. I toured their already and their game design studios are HUGE
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> Computer science usually revolves around troubled shooting and solving issues in technology.
>
> Computer Programming and Analysis is what I major in. It's basically a "Programmer" but the technical term would be a "Software Engineer"
>
> There is also a major for game design in specific. Usually these colleges are REALLY expensive. The best two schools for Game Programming as a major in around the United States, in my opinion, is Fullsail University and SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) University. SCAD is in Savannah Georgia. Fullsail University, which was the college I had planned to go to originally, is located in Winter Park, Florida. It's in Orlando, FL. It's about 70K/year plus living expenses. There are no dorms For Fullsail, however there are student apartments you'd nee to rent. So, if you plan on going for Game Design at Fullsail, I suggest saving money now. Fullsail is AMAZING. I toured their already and their game design studios are HUGE

I have seen a few videos about Fullsail and it does look absolutely amazing but 70k a year is quite a bit so I doubt I'll be able to go there. xP I guess it all really depends on what happens 2 years from now though.
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Just to make it clear Game Designer and Programmer are VERY differant things. I have many any game designers friends. It is a career, just a differant one.

Oh also id like to note im from **Canada**! Things may be very different in the states!
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As far as programming languages go. Most major companies use C++, but that does NOT mean you should limit yourself to the language alone. My college courses in "Computer Software and Analysis" teaches its first course "Introduction to Computer Programming" which they teach using Python and a python game making book. Aftwards I get to choose my line up classes. But my required classes (in no particular order) include, Visual Basics .Net Program, Java Programming, Introduction to Web Interfacing, Network Security, Programming in C++, and I believe there is also introduction to Database Structuring, which suggests you take Database Security as an elective with it.

But learning a language is more than learning the syntax alone. You need to understand proper programming practices, Programming Patterns, and Proper Code Structure. Getting out of my first class also states you should have a basic understanding to "Undustrial Standards of Writing Code" Which is basically writing your code so it's readable by not just yourself, but anyone else who edits your code as well.
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Yea, that is very true. I may have sounded like that is the only language you will ever need. It is definitely good to know a few, learn the differences between them. They all have there ups and downs. Currently in the industry I have been asked to code in:

C++

C#

Objective C

Javascript

Python

Java

I have even been told I should learn assembly for debugging. 

Also to back up Crest's other point, knowing the syntax algorithms etc is definitely only part of it. There is a lot more to just writing any language in general.
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I definitely do plan on learning at least 3-4 languages before heading off to college (Java, C#, C++, and maybe Ruby). Also after taking another look at all the course on that web page I think every class is C++. If for some reason C++ is the only language can I can certificates or something like that with these other languages?
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Quick question, if I do only end up learning C++ in these courses will I have the ability to get a job with another language if I know it? Let's say I'm applying for a job and I need to know C++ and Java. Can I get that job if I know Java even though I didn't do it in college? Also do you think I will I earn the same pay as somebody who did both of those languages in College?
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You do not need a certificate to get as job. If you know it and can show it, you should be fine.

A friend of mine who studies Computer science or something in University, told me that as long as you actually know programming, you don't need a paper to tell you that you can.
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> You need a degree to get a job in most serious places, or an awesome example that you can prove to demonstrate your skills. People can lie and cheat, to get a job, which is why diplomas are taken more seriously since they are much harder to cheat.

Well that is what the interview is for, all those technical questions etc. Hard to fake that.
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> You need a degree to get a job in most serious places, or an awesome example that you can prove to demonstrate your skills. People can lie and cheat, to get a job, which is why diplomas are taken more seriously since they are much harder to cheat.

What Marsh said, while you might not get a top job right of the bat, working yourself up works pretty well as long as you can program, since jobs does really look mostly on experience, compared to education.
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Thanks for all the replies everyone. :) Anyway my plan of attack after graduating is probably applying at Ubisoft seeing as how they have a program where they hire graduates. If that doesn't work out I'll look around for possibly another studio or a smaller company that hires grads. I also do plan on working on a few games while I'm in college (and while I'm in High School) to possibly help me obtain a job faster once I graduate.
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  • 2 months later...
I think many people here have a mistaken notion of what Computer Science actually is.

Actual programming is such a minor part of Computer Science. In many respects, programming is to Computer Science as Algebra is to Advanced Mathematics; it's used extensively, but your education won't focus on it. A large part of our curriculum is oriented towards understanding different types of algorithms, data structures, and computational models. Yes, quite a bit of this requires programming, but programming isn't the center-piece.
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There are probably more people that go into Computer Science for database and networking than programming, but right Computer Science is a broad scope when compared to the many divisions of other sciences out there (Chemistry, Biology, etc).
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I graduated from the game dev degree program from full sail in summer of 2013\. I'll say this, the education is just a set of expensive tools and it is up to you to build something with them. I loved it there, and while I learned a lot, it was networking and side projects that rreally drive my success. I'm not even a programmer, I'm a designer and I love it. Just. Remember, passion goes a long way. In this industry. When I was at full sail, I'd spend at least 4 more hours a day in addition to my 8 your classes just practicing and researching.

Edit:

Wrote this on my phone disregard the terrible spelling/grammar :D
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  • 3 weeks later...
> There are probably more people that go into Computer Science for database and networking than programming, but right Computer Science is a broad scope when compared to the many divisions of other sciences out there (Chemistry, Biology, etc).

You'd be surprised to know that the other sciences are far more broad than you might think, and many specialized facets of computer science are tied fundamentally to them.

That being said, yes, I agree with the first half of what you said, with a slight addition. Relative to programming, I believe the number of students who actually go into the "science" part of computer science is minimal in comparison. Also, databases and networking _is_ programming, and from the people I have talked to, most plan on going into some facet of game development (e.g. UX, AI, localization), database related programming, high-level networking related programming and a mobile applications.

> I think many people here have a mistaken notion of what Computer Science actually is.
>
>  
>
> Actual programming is such a minor part of Computer Science. In many respects, programming is to Computer Science as Algebra is to Advanced Mathematics; it's used extensively, but your education won't focus on it. A large part of our curriculum is oriented towards understanding different types of algorithms, data structures, and computational models. Yes, quite a bit of this requires programming, but programming isn't the center-piece.

This is true, although while programming is a small portion of computer science, as I stated above, most computer science students I know want to become software engineers (programming, this is the application side) as opposed to computer scientists (the theory side).

My responses to other posts given, if you want to go into the games industry you also need to pick whether you are going to go for just undergraduate school for a Bachelor's degree or enroll in graduate school for either a Master's or Doctorate (PhD) as well.

In addition, if you are going into games I don't recommend Ruby, I recommend C++, C#, Java, JavaScript and if you have something specific in mind, even Python, with experience in at least one of the following: OpenGL, DirectX, Unity, Unreal, WebGL, OpenGL ES.

The following will likely not help you get any decent job in the industry: Visual Basic (any version), RPG Maker, Game Maker.
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